On the second point, “The problem there is you’re talking about
13 percent of the federal budget,” said George Behan, spokesman for
U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair.

Dicks’ position of leadership even though he is again in the
minority party is spelled out pretty well in a (Tacoma) News Tribune story by
McClatchy Washington Bureau reporter Rob Hotakainen.

The story also references the call for no earmarks and the
problems locally (think Port Orchard) that presents.

“I (Dicks) may have done it,” he said in an interview in his
office on Capitol Hill last week. “I’ve been here 34 years. I may
have done the best I can.”

Behan said Dicks takes issue with the president’s apparent
willingness to leave defense out of the spending cut picture. Dicks
gave a speech on the House floor Tuesday (The video appears below.)
referencing $78 billion in defense cuts recommended by Defense
Secretary Robert Gates.

Behan said that in times like these, Dicks believes cuts need to
be made everywhere. “He’s as strong as anybody on defense but he
doesn’t believe you should exempt the Pentagon,” Behan said.

Incidentally, Dicks still doesn’t have a copy of the president’s
speech, late by Washington standards. An excerpt of the Republican response to the
speech has been posted on Facebook.

Non-discretionary spending is far and away the big chunk of the
federal budget, items in defense, Medicare and Social Security. An
overall freeze of spending would cap all spending at whatever it is
this year, but the federal government would have a tough time doing
that, because spending on defense, Medicare and Social Security go
up every year just by maintaining the same level of service. That’s
why a freeze is essentially a cut. Cutting non-discretionary
spending is harder to do, Behan said.

Also part of the president’s speech tonight is . U.S. Rep. Jay
Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island, spoke to that this morning on the
floor of the House.

“As we’re coming out of this very deep recession, many of us
believe that one of the brightest spots on our economic horizon is
our ability to develop hundreds of thousands of new jobs in this
country, so that America can fulfill its detiny of leading the
world in clean energy development.”

One thought on “Federal spending will not go down”

End the uncontrolled actions by agencies such as the EPA that by mandating destructive ethanol into our fuel are destroying our equipment, our cars, our boats, our air, and our food supply.

End the strangulation by the trial lawyers and unions over our economy and freedoms.

Fund the student, not the bureaucracy. Make schools compete.

Decertify public employee unions.

$23 loss per passenger on railroads. We shouldn’t up it.

DoD easily CAN make cuts. Bring home the combat troops stationed in stable countries. Change the O&M budgets in DoD and other agencies to biennials. That will improve contracts, lower cost, and reduce administrative personnel requirements. And protect the equipment, aircraft, materiel from corrosion. (NOTE: I was a military comptroller and contracting officer)